Circles

Chapter VII

Noah was absorbed gazing at the scene before him, feeling his stomach tighten from the sudden impression. He wanted to run, but he couldn't take his eyes off of it. Out of all the places, out of all the parks in the city, he had to go to that one. Apparently, they hadn't seen him, so he thought that if he stayed a little longer, just a little, he'd get used to the bitter sensation in his throat.

"Hey! Noah!"

The boy jumped and angrily turned to find the person who had called him, betraying him.

"What are ya doifffm...?"

"Shut up your mouth!" he ordered as he hurried to cover it with both hands, but the boy couldn't say anything more, it was already too late.

"Noah?" Alister had approached and was looking at them curiously. "What are you doing here?"

"It's not what you think! I was... I was waiting for this idiot, and then... I wasn't spying! I just saw you there, and it surprised me." His words flowed out rapidly, making Alister smile. "It just surprised me," he replied, trying to appear calm.

Alister fixed his gaze on the other boy for a moment.

"Is he your friend?"

"Uh..."

"Hello, I'm Erick, his friend and classmate," the boy smiled, extending his hand.

"Oh, it's a pleasure, Erick," he smiled back as he also extended his hand to shake it.

"And she is...?" Noah asked, looking directly at Alister.

A tall blonde girl had approached cautiously.

"Oh, she's a friend from university," he replied, giving her a quick glance. "So, what are you doing here?"

Noah frowned at him.

"Doesn't 'your friend' have a name?"

"Hey..."

"I'm Anna," the girl replied unfazed, smiling warmly at Noah. "Nice to meet you, Noah. You're as handsome as your brother said."

"Anna, be quiet," Alister muttered.

"Come on, no need to be so cautious! After all, you'll have to introduce me to your family soon," she smiled with satisfaction. "You know, Alister can't stop talking about you. If I didn't know you were brothers, I'd feel really jealous."

"Oh yeah?" Noah stared at Alister intently, challenging him. "How did you two meet?"

"Anna..."

"Oh, we're first-year classmates."

"I see. I think you make a nice couple."

"Noah..."

"What?"

"Right? I think so, too! I can't wait to make this more official and..."

"Anna!" Alister shouted at her with a threatening look, but immediately softened his tone. "Could you stop talking about that?"

"Ah... sure, sorry."

"Well then, what are you doing here?" he asked Noah again, looking at him.

"I just came to the store to buy some food," he rushed to say. "It felt a bit stuffy in there, so I just crossed over to the park. That's all."

Erick was looking at him in silence, a faint smile on his lips. "That's right!"

Alister sighed.

"Do you have enough money to eat well?"

"Yes, don't worry."

"I'm treating him today," Erick smiled.

"And to get back home?"

"I can lend him money if he's short..."

Alister completely ignored the guy and waited for Noah's answer.

"Yes, I do."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, why would I lie to you?"

Alister furrowed his brow.

"Take this, then. Keep it... just in case."

Noah looked at him, hesitant to accept, but finally took the money he was offering.

"Thank you," he mumbled, somewhat embarrassed.

"Alright, we're leaving. I'll see you at dinner, Noah, don't be late."

"Yeah, yeah..."

Noah quickly turned to cross the street, followed by Erick. But before he could get far enough, he heard Anna's sharp voice.

"He's such a cute kid! You have to stop teasing him, at 14 you don't want your older brother lecturing you..."

"Sure, 'a kid'," Noah thought before starting to walk in the opposite direction at a fast pace. He wanted to get away from there as quickly as possible and forget what he had seen.

"What the hell was that?" Erick asked, hanging onto his neck. "You made up everything so fast, it surprised me."

"And what about 'I'm his friend and classmate'? Are you stupid? I don't even know your last name... imagine if he had started asking me questions..." he protested as he pushed Erick roughly to get him off.

"Well, you were making something up, that's all."

"As if it were that easy."

"You're good at it," he said, shrugging. "It's not like he was going to question us separately and then compare our answers."

"You don't know him."

Erick looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Fine, whatever. He gave you money, so I won't pay you today."

"Hey!" Noah grabbed him by the shirt collar. Although he was several inches shorter than Erick, he looked menacing. "It's a deal, so I expect you to pay me. I wouldn't put up with this crap if I didn't really need the money."

"Okay... okay! Calm down! We'll do it as usual, okay? Why are you so irritable? You used to be so charming at first..."

"It's nothing," he muttered as he let go of him and started walking again. "And I was never 'charming' with you."

"You're charming with everyone, you just can't see it. It's like you attract flies with honey... and then, bam! That sounds more like a carnivorous plant..." he smirked maliciously. "Does it have something to do with your brother?"

"Would you shut up? You're going to give me a headache."

"..."

"Your place... there's nobody, right?"

"Yes."

"Good."

"..."

"Did you buy the condoms?"

"Of course."

"Okay." Noah sighed.

"You're really cute, Noah. If you didn't have that crappy personality with those extreme mood swings, I'd start worrying about my luck..."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Haha, it's nothing! Nothing!" he laughed as he began to walk faster.

"Idiot," Noah muttered, annoyed.

"But you still prefer me..." Replied Erick nonchalantly.